Entertainment In Focus

05 December 2008 04:07 BST

Leon Jean Marie - Mark Ronson's the coolest man around

East London boy Leon Jean Marie combines Prince with indie stylings to produce fresh music for 2008 as a listen to his debut album Bent Out Of Shape will attest to.

I recently met Leon and we chatted about his inspirations, his ups and downs and his passion for driving.

Starting out on the production side of the music industry, 25-year-old singer-songwriter Leon Jean Marie has just released his first album on the Island Records label.

To read the inthenews.co.uk review of Bent Out of Shape, click here

And it was in the funky, laidback environs of Island's west London offices that I got the chance to talk to the amiable and energetic artist.

Debut album Bent Out Of Shape was released earlier this month and showcases Leon's diverse taste in musical genres. The album took about two and a half years to put together.

Said Leon with a smile: "It's a life's work, that is. We recorded up to 40-50 songs and kind of condensed it down, which is cool because I had a lot of stuff, y'know.

"I guess, making the album I wanted to be very honest, musically as well as lyrically. Just very honest and kinda reflecting how I grew up.

"As a kid, I wasn't ignorant to any genre. I just absorbed it and loved it. I just love honest music. I love film scores, it's one of my guilty pleasures."

Leon cited the soundtrack to Carlito’s Way, the 70s-set Al Pacino gangster drama, as one of his favourite film scores.

He said: "We watched it on the tour bus, actually. The score is like, 'oh my god!'"
Leon was exposed to lots of different genres of music as a child. He takes up the story: "As a kid I danced and imitated Michael Jackson, as every kid did. I tried to do the moonwalk and I got it down.

"My brother was a die hard fan of Prince and my mum's a fan of Bob Marley, and my dad's into Nat King Cole.

"When I hit a certain age I got totally into Prince, I got the Prince bug. Listening to Prince, he crosses genres a lot.

"I remember about 93/94 when Kurt Cobain died, I got into Foo Fighters and from that point it was a massive collage of Wu Tang and Jurassic 5, all of that, a real mix."

Leon has had his fair share of tough times such as depression and sleeping rough, and these experiences, have to an extent, coloured his music as he said: "Yeah, definitely.

"I didn't want it to tarnish the record, make it a 'slash your wrists' record. I wanted to get it out, and 'celebrate' it. Let the music set me free."

Bed Of Nails from the album was produced by Mark Ronson and made Radio 2's A playlist.

Commenting on his collaboration with Ronson, Leon said: "He's brilliant. He's as cool as you would think. I always feel like a major geek around him because he's so cool.

"Creatively, he's very accommodating. Being in the studio with him he's like 'it's your gig, it's your show’ and it was a good lesson for me coming from a producer's background myself, it was good to share this responsibility.

"That was two years ago and he hadn't worked with Amy Winehouse but he was cool. But now, he's like huge!"

Leon's signing to Island came about as a result of the record company's president taking an early interest in the singer-songwriter's work.

Leon said: "I was doing demos and travelling to Sweden working with Bloodshy, working with Mark Ronson, the Rural. All of that was on a good vibe.

"When I was about 90 per cent done that was when we tried approaching some record companies."

During this period, Island was ever-present and Leon decided to go to a familiar face. He now has a two-album deal with the company.

And what are his hopes for debut album Bent Out Of Shape? He said: "I just hope it's well received."

Leon looks set to be a fixture at this summer's major festivals with appearances at Wireless and Lovebox Weekender in his native east London as well as performing at Glastonbury last month.

He said: "I went to Lovebox last year for the first time, and living in east London, it's just this massive festival and it's really cool. Yeah, just to be playing there, it's like the home gig."

Leon plans to play tracks from Bent Out Of Shape at his festival dates although he wants to experiment musically as soon as he can.

He said: "I really wanna try some musical movements or segueways, even some jazz stuff, jazz funk."

Coming, as he does from a producer's background, I asked Leon how he compares performing live to being ensconced in a studio. He said that he's a bit of a hermit at heart so being in a studio creating music gains the upper hand, however, he said he finds playing live very exciting.

Returning to the album, I asked Leon which tracks resonate with him and what other elements of the album's recording process mean a lot to him.

He said that the track Gotta Have It is about a man drawn to prostitutes, like a moth to a flame.

Said Leon: "I met this guy who was addicted to prostitutes. He genuinely had a problem, and that was what inspired me to write that song.

"The live strings were recorded at RAK Studios in west London. I didn't conduct the strings but it was an amazing moment.

"Rak Studios are an amazing place. The offices are literally untouched, they're exactly the way they were when a guy called Mickey died in the office.

"When we finished recording, the guy's daughter took us on a tour and into Mickey’s office – pen next to the pad, literally untouched. It was amazing. It's kinda wow, kinda cool. It's really haunting."

Bent Out Of Shape has a 60s Britpop undertone running throughout and commenting on this Leon said: "For a lot of the sessions I knew what gear I wanted to use, some old pre-amps to give you that old feel."

Having worked with Mark Ronson on the track Bed Of Nails, I asked Leon who else he'd like to work with on future projects, and his old mucker Ronson's name entered the frame, as he said: "If I could afford him!"

Although Leon missed out on working with former Prince cohorts Lisa and Wendy, he did talk to them when the purple one performed at the Brits, and he says collaborating with the two ladies is high on his wish-list.

"Here in the UK, I guess, the Rural. They're really good guys. Jimmy Hogarth, he's such a nice guy," said Leon.

Leon recently supported Estelle on her UK dates and said it would be interesting to work with the US-based nu-soul star.

He said: "I was in a club last year and Mark Ronson was DJing there, and Estelle was there. I walked up to her and said I loved that 1980 record she did.

"We got talking and she said she was off to do a deal with John Legend in New York. She's like an old buddy, but she's very focused, she’s on it."

So then, that's Leon Jean Marie, multi-talented singer-songwriter, however how does he relax from making music. The answer comes in the form of his AC Cobra kit car.

He said he enjoys taking the Cobra out for a drive on the highways and byways of Essex.

"I absolutely love taking the old boy for a run. You could go on for ever and nothing beats it!

"I'm not sure how long that'll last what with petrol prices and all that," he quipped before readying himself for another interview.

Lee Davis

To read the inthenews.co.uk review of Bent Out of Shape, click here